Regenerative air turbines



E. KOLODZIEJ REGENERATIVE AIR TURBINES O oaooov 70 Filed April 2l, 1969 June 2', 1970 June 2, 1970 E. KoLoDzn-:J 3,514,951

REGENERATIVE AIR TURBINES Filed April 21, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Edward/232062Z@ l r f A 3,514,951 I Patented June 2, '1970 3,514,951 REGENERATIVE AIR TURBINESV Edward Kolodziej, 5616 W. 5th Ave.,

Gary, Ind. 46406 Filed Apr. 21, 1969, Ser. No. 817,820 Int. Cl. F01d 1/00; F01k 3/18 U.S. Cl. 60-59 j 5 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE The invention deals with the feed of a uid medium to the rotor of a turbine. A plenum chamber opposite the receiving side of the rotor contains the medium under pressure; and conduits from the plenum chamber `lead the medium toward such side. Adjacent to the conduits are a series of circularly-spaced headers straddling the periphery of the turbine rotor and formed with end pockets opening in the region of the rotor vanes on the receiving and departing sides respectively. The uid medium from the conduits enters the receiving side of the first header in a series, and is deflected into the receiving side of the turbine rotor. After the medium passes through the latter the header trains it across to enter the second header and return into the receiving side of the rotor. This action is repeated through each header series to lend its medium regenerative properties.

My invention relates to means associated with air turbines to increase their efficiency, and is an improvement on the arrangement covered in my pending application on Regenerative Air Turbine filed on July 2, 1968 under Ser. No. 741,962.

Whereas, the regenerative element in the foresaid application is in the form of conduit coils leading from the discharging side of the turbine, and re-entering the receiving side of the same at advanced points, it is one object of the present application to employ chambered headers in place of the coils in order to gain capacity and ease of application.

Another object is to make the headers in closely-assembled sections of similar hollow construction lending their inner sides quick access for cleaning or repairs.

An additional object is to design the headers identical in most respects for economy of production.

A better understanding of the invention may be gained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. l is a longitudinal section of the improved arrangement, partly in elevation;

FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 are, respectively, sections on the lines 2 2, 3 3, and 4 4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged vertical section of a regenerative unit shown in the right-hand portion of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a section on the line 6 6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a plan section of FIG. 5, showing a top header group;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a top header in a group, seen from the line 8 8 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a similar view of a final header seen from the line 9 9 of the same figure; and

FIG. l0 is an enlarged duplication of the center portion of FIG. 7, showing groups of tapered outlet passages;

Referring specifically to the drawings, the present improvement follows the general arrangement in my aforesaid application. Thus, 10 denotes the housing, and 11 a concentrated air-intake receiver at one end of the same. The center of the receiver has a conical deflector 12 for training the air currents into the outer zone of the receiver, as indicated by arrows. The receiver leads into a rotary pump 13 centered on the drive shaft 14 of the turbine. The pump is a circular structure formed Iwitha series of circularly-spaced tubes 15 tapering from the l receiving side to the discharging side of the pump. FIG. I`

shows that the tubes 15 have an obtuse angle; and their discharging ends face a toroidal manifold 17 formed with a series of tapered inlets 17a in the' path of air discharged from thepump tubes 15.

l The manifold 17 ldischarges into a series of long pipes 18 which extend toward the opposite end of the housing, the pipes leading into a plenum chamber 19. The latter adjoins a stator 20` enclosing a turbine rotor 21 carriedby the center shaft 14. The wall 20a`between the-plenum chamber and the stator has four circularly-distributed conduits`v20b Aat the same distance from the rotor .shaft as the vanes 21a of the rotor. Compressed air received from the pipes 18 by the plenum chamber travels through the conduits 20b linto a series of header groups taking the place of the tubular coils employed in the structure of the aforesaid application.

Four header groups are distributed around the rotor 21, each having three headers, as seen in FIG. 4. In FIG. 6 the direction of rotor travel is intended to be counter-clockwise, and the headers-in any given group are therefore marked 23a, 23b and23c in the order of rotor travel. As seen in FIGS. 5 and 8, each header is rounded endwise from the outer side to the inner one as shown at 23d to form facing lateral pockets 23e. One end of the first header 23a is in the form of a wall 23f which is cut down from the side with a wide recess 23g; and the stock of the wall 23f at one end of the recess is deflected into the header with an oblique wing 23h. In the counter-clockwise direction in FIG. 6, the first and second headers are made just as described, but the final one is also made with an end wall 231' parallel to the wall 23j. As recessed, the headers are adapted to Straddle the turbine rotor housing 21a crosswise, as seen in FIG. 5.

According to the showing in FIG. 7, compressed air entering a conduit 20b passes into the stator 20 where it finds a lateral entrance into the header 23a by way of its wing 23]'. This deflects the air obliquely into the receiving side of the rotor 21. As in the aforesaid application, the air bears on the immediate portion 2lb of each rotor vane, makes impact with the remote portion 21c, and continues out of the rotor into tlieright-hand end of the header 23a, whose curvature causles the air to travelaccording to the arrows in the top of FIG. 5 across the header to be deflected by the wing of header 23b, again into the receiving side of the rotor to operate the same as before. FIGS. 7 and 9 show the final wall 231' of the header 23C; and FIG. 7 shows the deflected entrance wings 23k which confine the compressed air to the rotor housing. The process just described `is designed to keep the compressed air re-circulating through the rotor vanes, accomplishing the regenerative principle of the turbine. Such air as is expelled from the rotor on its discharging side-between the groups of headers enters the righthand chamber 25, and then into the housing 10, which has a relief pipe 25a to the atmosphere, as seen at the top of FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 shows that the conduits 20b and the outlet passages of the turbine may be made with restricted nozzles 26 in order to increase the velocity of the air currents passing through the same and add to the power of the turbine. While the latter is started by a supply of compressed air in the receiver 11, a heating unit 30 is operated to expand the air in the -pipes 18 and procure added air pressure in the plenum chamber for operating the turbine.

I claim:

1. Afeed for a fluid medium to a turbine rotor having a circular series of receiving vanes in the region of its periphery comprising a plenum chamber receiving the mediumunder pressure, a crcularly-spaced series of conduits from the plenum chamber directed toward said vanes, and a series of headers straddling the rotor periphery transversely in circularly-spaced order adjacent to each of said conduits, said headers receiving the medium from the departing side of the rotor and successively training the same into the receiving side thereof for reuse.

2. The structure of claim 1, the conduits having oblique wings transmitting the medium to the vanes of the rotor in the direction of its rotation.

3. The structure of claim 1, said headers being charnbered opposite the periphery of the rotor and formed end- Wise -with rounded pockets communicating with the rotor in the receiving and departing regions of its vanes.

4. The structure `of claim I, said headers being chambered opposite the periphery of the vrotor and formed 4 endwise with rounded pockets communicating with the rotor in the receiving and departing regions of its vanes, and oblique wings from the headers opposite the receiving side of the rotor deilecting the medium into the receiving vanes of the rotor in the direction of its rotation.

5. The structure of claim 1, and constricted passages in the path of the medium from the headers toward said receiving vanes adding to the velocity of the medium.

vReferences Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,767,549 10/ 1956 Martin. 3,070,349 12/ 1962 Stewart et al. 415-58 MARTIN P. SCHWADRON, Primary Examiner R. R. BUNEVICH, Assistant Examiner lU.S. Cl. X.R. 415--58 

